Britse wetenschappers, academici stemmen vóór boycott van Israelische universiteiten
Tegen het advies van hun leiding in, hebben de Britse unies van academici, professoren en lecturers massaal vóór een academische boycott van Israelische universiteiten en wetenschappers gestemd.
Dit is een unieke gebeurtenis, enkel eerder vertoond in het geval van Zuid-Afrika, toen de Britse academische wereld ook het voortouw nam in een (succesrijke) boycott.
Meestal heeft het heel wat voeten in de aarde om wetenschappers te overtuigen zo'n radicaal instrument als de boycott in te zetten. Deze lui zijn immers erg kritisch en wars van radicale maatregelen. Hun tweede natuur is er een van nuance en voorzichtigheid.
Niet in het geval van Israel dus.
De academici verwijten Israelische universiteiten en collegas ervan met hun onderzoek mee de illegale bezetting van Palestina in stand te houden.
Citaat:
Q&A: Israeli academic boycott - what happens next?
Debbie Andalo
Thursday May 31, 2007
EducationGuardian.co.uk
What did lecturers agree at their national conference?
The University and College Union voted 158 to 99 to circulate a motion to all its branches to discuss calls from Palestinian trade unions for a "comprehensive and consistent international boycott of all Israeli academic institutions". The motion is going to branches for "their information and discussion".What does that decision mean?
Less than 24 hours after the vote, there is widespread confusion about what the vote actually means. By not rejecting the motion, the union has taken a step towards backing an academic boycott.
What happens next?
The motion will go to individual UCU branches for lecturers to discuss. It is then up to members to decide what, if anything, they want to do next.
What could branches decide to do?
It depends how union members interpret the motion. Some may feel yesterday's conference vote means the union has already agreed to an Israeli academic boycott and they may feel they have the right to implement it as they see fit. Other branches, however, may believe that the decision on a boycott has yet to be taken and needs to be discussed locally.
This all sounds a bit confusing.
It is. National union officials believe it could take until the beginning of next week to unravel the implications of the union's vote.
So what's the union's official line?
The UCU leadership believes a boycott has not been agreed. The only decision taken was that the motion which calls for a boycott is going back to branches for information and discussion.
The union maintains that its official policy on any Israeli academic boycott is as it was before the vote. This policy states that the union would only consider an international academic boycott if the request comes from a "legitimate organisation within a state." Legitimate organisations, it says, would include a "trade union movement, a recognised higher education union or other representative organisation".
But didn't the motion for the boycott follow a call from "Palestinian trade unions"?
Yes, it did. But some union officials are seeking more details and clarification about their validity.
What does the UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, think?
Before the controversial vote was taken she advised members that an Israeli academic boycott was not something which the union should get embroiled in. She said a boycott was unlikely to be supported by the majority of UCU members and suggested instead that the union should retain a dialogue with trade unionists on all sides - not just those they agreed with.
She was disappointed at the vote, then?
Not really. Afterwards, she said it was important that "every member should have the opportunity to have their say". As part of her election manifesto she said that any decision by the union to support an international academic boycott should be decided by a full ballot of members. That remained her opinion after the vote.
So will there be a membership ballot on the boycott?
Possibly. The official union line is that any change in union policy has to be decided by congress. As the union's official line is that the policy decision on an Israeli academic boycott has not changed then it could follow that the issue will have to go back to congress - either next year, or at an extraordinary meeting which could be called for by a union branch. There is a possibility of a full membership ballot on the boycott - but the direction in which the union turns is now in the hands of its members.
More background on how the boycott vote came about.
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Google news (195 artikels).
Moeten ook onze universiteiten zo'n boycott op touw zetten? Wat vindt u de voor- en nadelen van zo'n academische actie?
De Israelische bezetter noemt de boycott inmiddels 'scandalous' en noemt de Britten anti-semieten, etc...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/865462.html |
